Advocacy Groups Challenge LI Officials Over Economic Development

Advocacy groups that had opposed the Amazon project in Queens challenged Long Island officials on Friday to change how the state operates its economic development programs.

The groups, Make the Road New York and New York Communities for Change, have been aligned with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which had sought to organize workers at the Amazon-owned Whole Foods grocery chain and were vocal opponents of the deal.

The groups gathered outside of the office of Sen. Todd Kaminsky, recently called the “dean” of the Long Island Democratic delegation by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration, urging a change to economic development.

The groups also wrote a letter to Kaminsky, Democratic Long Island senators and the Nassau and Suffolk county executives pushing them to change the approach.

“At a time of rising income and wealth inequality, Long Island needs and deserves a better model of economic development for the future,” they wrote. “We urge you to support policies that will increase investment in good jobs on Long Island, robust local hiring programs, real affordable housing, and open new paths to the middle class for struggling Long Island residents and families.”

Cuomo had sought to reverse Amazon’s decision to pull the plug on the Queens project, part of a $2 billion tax incentive plan linked to the creation of 25,000 pledged jobs over the years.

The delegation in response released a joint statement:

“We strongly believe Amazon could be a great partner for the region and we will continue to support projects that encourage job growth and economic prosperity for the constituencies we represent.

Voters can rest assured that not only on this issue, but our entire legislative agenda, prioritizes the interest of Long Islanders, and it is important to clarify that the needs and concerns of Long Island residents are vastly different than those of New York City residents.

We stand firm in the belief that by working together, we can find a solution that will allow us to work with Amazon and local stakeholders to make sure that the community, residents, and employees’ concerns are addressed in a way that is mutually beneficial for all.

This entry was posted by Nick Reisman on March 8, 2019 at 4:42 pm, and is filed under State Senate. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.